Engines are seen at a motorcycle factory in Vinh Phuc Province, near Hanoi, on April 21, 2015. Professionals skilled in engineering, procurement, sourcing and supply chain will see increased job opportunities this year as more manufacturing plants is expected to establish operations in Vietnam. Photo: Kham/Reuters

With more businesses coming to Vietnam, the local talent pool is getting stretched and companies in the country will this year increasingly attract Vietnamese professionals who have studied or worked abroad, according to the head of a recruitment company.

Jon Whitehead of Robert Walters’ Vietnam division said employers had increasingly looked to attract returning Vietnamese professionals to address the shortage of local talent last year and this trend would continue in 2016 in all sectors.

“With international experience, returning Vietnamese professionals can help top-level managers. Below them, they will obviously help a number of local Vietnamese that don’t have opportunities to study and work abroad to develop skills quickly,” he told Thanh Nien News.

“Returning Vietnamese understand the culture and language, so they can build bridges between foreign general managers, who come from different cultures, and local staff here.”

Whitehead expects foreign businesses, including from the US, Europe, Thailand, and Australia, to continue to come to Vietnam this year.

With competition for talent increasing, he said hiring managers should consider candidates from outside their industries.